Write a critical appreciation of Doctor Johnson's Letter to Lord

Write a critical appreciation of Doctor Johnson’s Letter to Lord Chesterfield.

Ans.

Doctor Johnson’s Letter to Lord Chesterfield is of great historical importance. It is a kind of death knell to the pernicious eighteenth century system of literary patronage. In 1746, a group of publishers approached Dr. Johnson and requested him to create an authoritative dictionary of the English language. He dedicated the plan of his Dictionary to Lord Chesterfield. He made Chesterfield the patron of this plan. Chesterfield. He made Chester field the patron of this plan. Chesterfield sentence pounds to Dr. Johnson and then took no further interest in the matter. for the following seven or eight years not much was heard of the projected work of the Dictionary and Doctor Johnson was engaged in other literary works. The publication of The Vanity of Human wishes, Irene and the essays in The Rambler, The Adventurer, and The Idler occupy these eight years. However, the work on the Dictionary continued at a slow and steady pace and in April 1755, it was published in two folio volumes.

When the Dictionary was on the verge of publication in 1755, Chesterfield wrote two anonymous essays in The World, recommending the Dictionary. He complained that the English language lacked locked structure and argued in support of the Dictionary. Johnson did not like the tone of the essay, and he felt that Chesterfield had not fulfilled his obligations as the wok’s patron. He felt greatly hurt by Chesterfield’s apathy to him during the seven years when he was pushing through his project in spite of acute financial hardships. He wrote a letter to Lord Chesterfield expressing the view and harshly criticized Chesterfield, saying, “Is not a patron, my lord, who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till ! am indifferent and cannot enjoy it; till I am known and do not want it”. Chester field, however, was greatly impressed by the language of the letter, and kept it displayed a table for anyone to read. The Dictionary was finally published in April 1755, with the title page acknowledging that Oxford had awarded Johnson a Master of Art degree in anticipation of the work.

In the letter Johnson says to Chesterfield that since the latter’s good gestures and favours and honour extended to him (Dr. Johnson) were too late to be of any use, since he carried out his work without any assistance or favour from Lord Chesterfield, he does not know how to confess his obligation. If Lord Chesterfield had taken not of Dr. Johnson’s labours and hardships seven years ago, it would have been very kind of him. Seven years ago he knocked at his doors for help but he was repulsed. However, he continued to push through his work single handed without a single act of assistance or a single word of encouragement from any patron. When he was out of difficulties, his Lord encumbered him with honour. All that came to him when he was indifferent and could not enjoy it.

Dr. Johnson was unwilling to confess his Lord’s obligations. He did not want that the public should be under the impression that his Dictionary was published with the help of a patron. Perhaps God ordained him to go ahead with his work without the help of nay patron.

The letter has been written in a very harsh language. It displays Dr. Johnson bitterness at Chesterfield’s treatment of him. The style is terse, pedantic, eumbrous and aphoristic. In this letter Dr. Johnson is simple, terse and thrilling, and as the occasion was a private one, we may take it that in the extraordinary fire and pungency of the sentences we have something like a specimen of that marvelous power of conversation which made him the wonder of his age. Dr Johnson has tried to compress his feelings and thoughts in the minimum possible words. Sometimes him sentences are short and pregnant with meaning. Let us see the following example;

“The notice which you have been pleased to take of my lalours, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary, and cannot impart it, till I am known and do not want it.”

Dr. Johnson’s Letter to Lord Chesterfield has great historical significance. It tells the knell of the pernicious eighteenth century system of literary patronage. After this letter literary patronage came almost to an and in England as hardly and literary writer enjoyed patronage from any great man, either from political field or ecclesiastical (religious) realm.